Hoeven: Entrepreneurs and Innovators are Driving Growth and Investment Across North Dakota’s Economy

Senator Addresses Emerging Prairie’s 1 Million Thanks Reunion

FARGO, N.D. – Senator John Hoeven today addressed Emerging Prairie’s 1 Million Thanks Reunion, where he recognized the important contributions of entrepreneurs and innovators toward creating new opportunities in North Dakota’s economy and outlined efforts to further grow the state’s technology sector.

“Through the efforts and vision of entrepreneurs and innovators, our state is developing opportunities across industries – agriculture, energy, telecommunications, health care, and space operations, to name a few,” Hoeven said. “This is a result of both the pro-growth business environment we’ve built in North Dakota, as well as the good work of Emerging Prairie and others who make new connections in the business community, inspire future entrepreneurs and help ensure their success. Our efforts in the Red River Valley have earned national and international attention. That means we not only have a thriving startup community, but we are also receiving interest and investment from companies around the world.”

Since his time as governor, Hoeven has worked to develop North Dakota’s technology sector, which is serving as the third wave in the state’s economic growth, following expansions in agriculture and energy. Among other efforts, Hoeven is working to:

• Secure federal support for Emerging Prairie’s Grand Farm initiative as it develops autonomous technology and the next generation of precision agriculture.
• Expand access to high-speed broadband, including in rural areas, to ensure data-intensive technologies like precision agriculture can be implemented.
• Grow the state’s leadership in unmanned aerial systems (UAS)development, testing, training and operations.
• Advance the development of carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) technologies, which will allow the state to continue utilizing all of its abundant energy resources.
• Support the success of the state’s tech entrepreneurs by helping introduce bipartisan legislation like:
• The Support Our Start-Ups Act to enable entrepreneurs to deduct more of their start-up costs and invest more into their operations sooner.
• The Portable Benefits for Independent Workers Pilot Program Act, which would make portable benefits more accessible for entrepreneurs and provide greater certainty for them and their families.

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